What a Wicked game
by lunarmotet
Summary: Ever since the day he met Elphaba, Fiyero had never been the same. From the first day at Shiz, to the day with the lion cub, until the day he lost her, she had always been his. Songfic of "Wicked Game" covered by Theory of a Deadman. Fiyeraba. One-shot.


_Hello all! This is my first songfic in a very long time, based off of "Wicked Game", specifically the cover done by Theory of Deadman. When I first heard the song, my mind went immediately to some good old angsty Fiyeraba. This is Musicalverse, documenting their romance from first glance until the end. So here it is, everyone, enjoy!_

* * *

There was something different about this girl, and Fiyero couldn't put his finger on it. Obviously, especially to most people, she was in fact quite different. Her skin was not the pale of her roommates or the dark brown of his, but a bold, striking emerald green. It did make her different, the color drawing in stares, whispers, and jeers of her classmates. He remembered the day he arrived, his entrance almost running her over. He remembered taking off his sunglasses, her green face contorted in rage the first clear glimpse he had of Shiz. Yes, she was in his way, and yes, she was green, but it didn't really bother him, and he never really understood why it bothered everyone else so much. Not everyone in Oz looked the same. They had a goat for a professor, for crying out loud! Her skin color wasn't a bother to him, nothing for him to verbalize about. Yes he was vain, and incredibly shallow, but he was not _that_ shallow.

No, it was something else, something aside from her verdigris that made her different. Maybe it was her brain, her intelligence, and her dedication to her studies. Maybe it was her caring nature for her sister, her kindness towards Boq, her forgiveness and eventual loyalty for Galinda. Maybe it was her spirit, her fiery disposition, the way she always had a comeback for every insult thrown at her. Maybe it was her passion, her love for doing the right thing, her need to stand up for the Animals and all of those who were outcasts.

Fiyero was not sure. The only thing he was sure about was that she ignited something inside of him that he didn't know was there. Yes, he had been with many girls in his past. Yes, he was now with Galinda, the two becoming the most popular and influential couple on campus. He thought she was pretty and he did like her, sometimes even feeling some warmth inside when she held his hand or kissed him.

But nothing, nothing compared to what this green girl did to him. He would catch himself staring at her, analyzing her features, trying to memorize the way her mouth turned up when he cracked a joke or how her eyes lit up when she was excited. When she looked at him, he felt like she could see right through him, and see him for who he truly was, a young man who had never really tried, never wanted to try, and therefore just gave up before he started because it never mattered to begin with. When she smiled at him, he felt sparks under his skin, a tingling feel spreading in his chest. He didn't know what it was, but she had him under her spell, and she didn't even know it.

* * *

Fiyero burst into the room, the cage still underneath his arm, pressed into his side. He stopped, panting, heart racing from running so fast. Elphaba was with him, also panting, the curls Galinda had forced into her raven hair now tangled, the flower pinned behind her near now missing. Elphaba, enraged at Dr. Dillamond's firing and at the treatment of this lion cub, had unleashed her magic in the classroom. Fiyero was still confused about why her magic hadn't affected him.

 _Maybe she doesn't think I'm like then_ , he thought to himself. _Maybe she knows that I'm different._

His heart thumped in his chest, not just from the physical exertion, but from thinking about her, from being next to her.

Like many times before, Fiyero made a mistake by opening his mouth. He confronted her for causing a scene, for starting a commotion. He was irritated with her firing at him, firing back with his own sharp words, words meant to wound. He realized what he was doing, stumbling, wishing he could take them back. She had seen through him, seen beneath the armor that he wore around himself, and confronted him.

"No you're not," she had said about his self-proclaimed shallowness, "or you wouldn't be so unhappy."

He didn't like that she was right. Nobody was supposed to know that about him. Nobody was supposed to see through the dancing-through-life façade. He didn't care if people knew him. He didn't want them to know him, but she knew him. Somehow, she saw who he really was.

"Oh look, you're bleeding, it must have scratched you…"

Fiyero hadn't noticed the cut on his face. He didn't notice that it was bleeding. He had no feeling in that area until a green hand with cold long fingers made contact with his skin. In that moment, he had felt the electricity dance from her fingertips through his skin, attacking his entire body with static. An urge, a desperate, fearsome urge came over him. He pulled his hand to cover hers, the desire to pull Elphaba close, to hold her, to kiss her growing stronger by the second.

And then, like a coward, he fled.

* * *

Fiyero woke up, the room still filled with darkness. He rolled to the side, checking the time on the clock. It was 5 AM, and Fiyero had been dreaming. He heard a small sound, and felt the body next to him readjust, her breath still soft and even, her mind still solidly asleep. Fiyero sat up, pushing the sheets off of him, trying not to wake the blonde girl whom he shared the bed.

Fiyero and Galinda had come back to her dorm late that night, giggling, drunk from the lights and sounds of the party they had attended, and also a bit drunk from the alcohol they were really not supposed to be drinking. Fiyero thought he was fine, that he could make it back to his room, but he ended up tripping over the shoes that Galinda had left haphazardly on the floor and ran right into the post of Elphaba's bed. He hit the floor with an 'Oof', the wind knocked out of him, too much alcohol in his system to function properly. The green girl, barely giving them a second glance after they entered, had glared at him for shaking the bed and interrupting her reading. But after staring at Fiyero, his shaggy haired visage and lopsided smile looking up at her, she demanded that he needed to stay put. Galinda protested, feeling guilty, but her roommate insisted that it was better and safer for him to stay over. As long as they weren't doing anything nasty, she wouldn't mind.

Fiyero, drunk and laying on the girl's dorm room floor, had seen Elphaba leaning over him, her head leaning over the side of the bed, a smirk on her face. He couldn't help but smile seeing her, even though he knew she was probably making fun of him. In fact, he didn't mind at all what she was saying or thinking at that moment; he just wanted to look at her. The lamp from her nightstand cast an ethereal glow around her head, making her look more like a spirit than a person.

 _An emerald angel_ , he had thought, _My emerald angel._

It wasn't until after he had fallen asleep, after he dreamt of her smile and her fingers entwined in his and her hand upon his face, after waking up with a start at 5 AM, did he realized that he had called her 'his'. She was not his. Galinda, the most popular girl at Shiz, the blonde girl curled up in bed next to him, she was his. The green girl, full of sass and rage and fire, was not. There was a moment, the moment her hand brushed his face, when he could have grabbed her, pulled her into him, and made her his. But he never took the chance. Instead, fearful, like a little boy, he ran. She had been avoiding him ever since, only talking to him when absolutely necessary and keeping it in a strictly business tone.

Fiyero stepped out of bed, his weight making a slight creak on the wooden floors. He walked into the bathroom, turning on the light and shutting the door. He looked at himself in the mirror, eyes red, face puffy from drinking, dark circles under his eyes.

 _You blew it_ , he thought to himself. _You had your chance, and you blew it. You were too afraid. You were too afraid to hurt Galinda, to leave her. You were too afraid. Maybe, if you had grown a pair, if you would have just been brave enough, you would be lying next to her tonight instead of feeling like a fraud. She was right; you are unhappy, and you did this to yourself._

Fiyero clicked off the light, returning to the room where the girls slept. He stood next to the bed, covers in his hand, when he heard a small sound. He turned, noticing Elphaba had finally gone to sleep, her book closed and sitting on her nightstand. She had shifted in her sleep, her raven hair tossed over her pillow, spilling onto her shoulders. Her eyes fluttered, her chest rising and falling softly. Fiyero stood there for a while, he wasn't sure how long, just watching her sleep. It wasn't until he heard Galinda roll over that he returned to her bed, body pressed into the woman that he was supposed to love but couldn't, sleep refusing to take him.

* * *

Fiyero was leaning on Galinda's dresser, eyes fixed upon a spot on the wall. His girlfriend was running late, leaving him to stand around her room and wait for her. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but the standing around was very awkward with Elphaba in the room. She wasn't distracted by his presence, her nose in a book, completely ignoring him. He wished it were that easy for him, that he could just pretend she wasn't there. But he couldn't do it. He needed to talk to her. He needed to know if she felt the same as he did.

"Look, we need to talk about that day with the lion cub…"

"What's there to talk about?" she replied shortly, her eyes barely flickering above the pages of her book.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Elphaba exhaled sharply through her nose, closing her book and setting it on her lap.

"There's nothing left to say. I have nothing to say to you, so say what you need to say and let's end it."

"End it?" said Fiyero in shock. "So I'm just supposed to pretend that never happened? Did you not feel what I felt?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play dumb, Elphaba, you are way too smart not to have realized that something happened between us in that room."

"There is nothing between us, Fiyero," sighed Elphaba. "There never was, and there never will be. Your dating Galinda, and I'm just her green freak of a roommate."

"I don't think you're a freak," said Fiyero.

"Don't lie to me. Everyone thinks that I'm a freak. I'm the artichoke, green bean, witch, psycho, ugly, hideous monster—"

"Stop it!" Fiyero interrupted her. "You're not ugly, you're beautiful."

Fiyero didn't realize what he had said until the words had already tumbled out of his mouth. Elphaba's eyes widened, her face registering an expression of shock. She held that expression for a few seconds before it contorted, rage taking over. She stood up and walked over to Fiyero, now in his face.

"Was that supposed to be funny?" Is this some kind of a joke to you?" she growled. "''Oh, let's go make the green girl think that the Prince likes her! What a great prank!' You know, I really thought more of you Fiyero. I didn't think you would sink that low."

"I'm not joking! This isn't a joke. I would never do something like that to you, you know that. I know you know that, Elphaba. I wouldn't lie to you to."

"Then why did you say that to me?"

Fiyero decided at that moment to tell her the truth.

"Because I think I'm in love with you."

Elphaba took a step backwards. Fiyero could see the confused expression her face, frozen as if she couldn't comprehend the words that went through her ears and into her brain. She laughed slightly, still thinking this might be a joke.

"You what?"

Fiyero took a deep breath.

"Ever since that day with the lion cub, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I have never, in my life, felt anything like this. I've never had these sorts of feelings before. It's scary, but exhilarating. It's you, Elphaba. I want to be with you. I love you."

Elphaba shook her head.

"That's impossible, Fiyero. You're in love with Galina, my roommate, my best friend. There is no way that you would give her up for…me. Why in Oz's name would you want me?"

Fiyero had now stepped toward Elphaba, the two so close that their noses were almost touching. She held both hands in front of her, either to touch his chest or push him away, he wasn't sure. He knew though, in that moment, that he needed to finish what he started in that room so many days ago. His arms were around her, pulling her closer to him. She backed away slightly from his touch, not sure how to react, not used to touch of the pleasant kind. He took his right hand and cupped her chin, raising her face to meet his. Her chocolate brown eyes connected with his, seeing deep into himself, into his soul. In one fervent motion, he drew her face upward, his head descending, their lips crashing together, the kiss that both had wanted and needed for so long finally happening.

She pulled back, breathless, her green skin flushing a slightly darker green. He smiled at her, running his hand over her cheek and around a lock of her raven hair. Her hands, shaking, reached up and rested on his chest, his heart beat pounding beneath her touch. He felt the spark on his skin, just like when she touched his face in that room. He wanted her. He needed her. He was in love with her.

The door handle jiggled loudly, the pair almost jumping out of their skin. Elphaba had flung herself backward, now many feet from Fiyero. They heard the blonde's voice from outside the door, complaining loudly about not being able to find her key. Fiyero felt a knot in his stomach, his yearning for her overriding his senses. She looked at him, sadness on her face.

She shook her head, as if to wipe away the kiss from her memory.

"Fiyero," she said solemnly, "We can't. We can't do this. I can't do this. I'm sorry."

* * *

Fiyero held the flowers in his hand, almost dropping them due to the sweat that would not stop forming on his palm. He watched the girls on the platform, hugging each other, preparing to separate for a while. Elphaba, clad in a long black dress, her now trademark black hat on her head, gripped her suitcase tightly, her face glowing with excitement. The Wizard had personally invited her to travel to the Emerald City and meet him. Elphaba was thrilled, and Fiyero should have been thrilled for her, but the thought of her leaving made him sick to his stomach. He had trouble concentrating on anything other than the lion cub and the dorm room and her hand on his face and how she felt in his arms and her lips pressing into his. Galinda had noticed his change in demeanor, chalking it up to him being upset over Dr. Dillamond. She had no idea what he was truly feeling.

He took a deep breath and walked over to the girls, handing the bouquet to Elphaba. He used all the bravery he had to open his mouth and tell her about the day with the lion cub, how he kept thinking about that day. She shifted awkwardly, her hands running over the petals on the flowers, avoiding his gaze. Galinda, always needing to be the center of attention, had turned dramatic, announcing that she was changing her name in honor of Dr. Dillamond. Fiyero felt his face get hot with embarrassment, realizing that she was only doing this to get his attention and impress him. She had no idea that his attention was somewhere else entirely.

Elphaba met his eyes again. He took in the sight of her, the green girl finally confident, proud, ready to greet the world. He opened his mouth again, trying to find some semblance of words, trying to figure out how to tell her how he felt, how he needed her, how he wanted her and nobody else, but his courage had faltered with Galinda, now Glinda, by his side. All he could manage was to say her name, tell her good luck, and flee.

Again, he ran from her. Again, he blew it.

Fiyero watched from behind the ticket booth as Elphaba, now with Glinda in tow, boarded the train, their joyful voices and laughter still echoing in his ears even after the train had pulled away.

* * *

Fiyero stood next to Glinda, her hand in the air, waving to all of the people of the Emerald City, her wonderful, dedicated followers. She grinned, her hand swaying back and forth, bathing in the love and adoration. Glinda had always wanted this, and Glinda always got what she wanted. In fact, she wanted to be engaged, and she had decided to make it so before Fiyero had even decided to propose. He had the ring, but he had been holding onto it for some time. The ring belonged to his grandmother, and his mother had given to him, eagerly waiting for him to get down on one knee in front of the Good Witch. That ring was now on Glinda's finger, flashing underneath the glaring spotlights that illuminated them. Morrible had betrayed them, announcing the engagement to everyone at the press conference. They were cheering, Glinda was waving, and Fiyero turned and stomped away.

He couldn't take it anymore. It took everything he had to keep his mouth closed when the people jeered Elphaba, screaming for the Wicked Witch, hungry for blood. This time, he couldn't keep his mouth closed, because the people had started a new rumor, that she was so unclean that water could melt her. He was furious, furious that these people for their blind hatred, furious at Glinda for ignoring their lies, and furious at himself for not doing anything.

She had been gone for a long time, years, although Fiyero wasn't sure how many. She never came back to Shiz after she got on the train that fateful day. The girl that left had become the Wicked Witch, the most evil and hated in all of Oz. She had been forced to flee, hiding out in the woods, freeing Animals from confinement and fighting for their cause. Fiyero had been reading every newspaper, listening to every report about her whereabouts. It didn't matter that it had been years since he last saw her. He still thought about her, sometimes in random flashes throughout the day, but mostly through his dreams. He could see her face in his mind's eyes, her smile, the feeling of her lips pressed against his. He needed to find her. He _had_ to find her.

He decided at that it was time he did something. Fiyero had been working hard, earning a spot in the Gale Force. The press conference he had just fled from was not just for Glinda's ego and their engagement; he, as of today, was officially Captain of the Guard. Part of his job, and the main reason he decided to go after the job, was to find Elphaba. He was leaving tomorrow morning, joining his team for the first time. There had been sightings of the Wicked Witch not far from the city, and the Wizard wanted them to strike at once before she retreated to more hostile territory. Fiyero was ready. He was going to find her, no matter what.

* * *

Fiyero had been hunting for Elphaba for weeks. They had traveled all over the city, all over the country, chasing rumors and partial sightings and less-than-credible eye witnesses. The Gale Force did not let themselves be disheartened; in fact, every time they missed her, every time she got away, it made them angrier and more eager to catch her. The men would talk amongst themselves, their voices dark and bloodthirsty, describing in detail what they would do when they succeeded in their mission. Fiyero would feel the rage inside of him, swirling like a tornado, often needing to step away and be alone so he wouldn't give himself away. If they knew his real reason for being out here, if they knew what was in his heart, they would turn on him.

He had thought many times about what would happen if they found her. He would have to act quickly to make sure they didn't execute her on the spot. He would have to find a reason for them to leave, a distraction, and then break her free. Fiyero may have thought this out, but he didn't have a plan. He had no idea what really would happen if they caught her. He had no clue how he'd react to seeing her, or how she would react to seeing him.

 _Would you think me a monster, Elphaba? Would you see my uniform and think that I am one of them? Do you think that I would hurt you, that I would kill you?_

"Captain!"

Fiyero was jolted out of his thoughts by the call of one of his soldiers. The soldier was frantic, running about, yelling in joy. The witch had been spotted! She is in the Emerald City, and she was heading to the north tower. She was being incredibly bold, on her way to the part of the castle where the Wizard and his giant, metal head lived. His soldiers were camped out just outside the city limits. They would be there in no time.

Fiyero grabbed his things, his heart pounding, his mind in a fog. This might be it. This might be his chance to find her.

Hours later, he found himself in the Wizard's chamber, his gun pointed at the woman that he loved.

* * *

Fiyero ran as fast as he could, the light from the lantern illuminating his path. He stumbled occasionally, feet catching on twisted roots and branches, but he continued one. His one hand gripped the light that was leading them to their escape. The other was behind him, grasped around the hand of the Wicked Witch, pulling her with him. The two of them had been running, neither knew for how long. Fiyero had threatened the Wizard, and finally told his fiancée the truth. The second he saw Elphaba's face, older and leaner than he remembered, but still just as beautiful, in fact, even more beautiful than he could have imagined, he knew that he was going with her. He had lived without her for so long, and now that he had her back, he was never going to let her go.

Fiyero found a small clearing in the middle of the forest. He had felt Elphaba starting to slow her pace behind him, and he was also starting to feel the fatigue in his muscles. He stepped into the clearing, kneeling on the ground, setting the lamp on the ground beside him. He turned, his eyes locked on the green girl, the Wicked Witch, the love of his life. With a swish of a hand he beckoned to her, and she was on the ground, kneeling next to him. Fiyero had been waiting for this moment since he heard about her escape, and even before then, when she had stepped off that platform and onto the train.

Fiyero couldn't contain himself. His arms were around her, pulling her to chest, his face in her raven hair. She looked up at him with those same chocolate eyes, now wiser, holding years of hard living inside them. He stroked her cheek, memorizing the lines of her face beneath his fingertips. They knew that this moment wouldn't last forever. The Gale Force was on their heels, and the entire country wanted them dead. But just for this moment, they belonged to each other.

His lips met hers, gently at first, and then more fearsome, slamming together over and over, passion erupting between them. His hands were on her face, in her hair, down the curve of her back, along the length of her leg. Hers were locked around his head, winding behind his neck, skimming over his chest. The two were a flame, igniting the air around them, their passion burning deep into the night.

Later, as the stars shown bright in the clear sky, as Elphaba slept, her head resting on his chest, her arm wrapped around him, Fiyero let go of everything he held in for the past years. He was holding her, and would hold her as long as he was able to, for finally, she was his.

* * *

Fiyero's battered body hung from the poles, dead weight upon the ties that bound him upright, his arms outstretched, his head hanging. He had no idea how long he had been up there, how long the Gale Force, his own men, had been torturing him. Pain causes time to change its course, to ebb and flow at the wrong speed and in the wrong direction. For now, time had stopped.

He knew his arms and legs were broken. He knew that a few of his ribs were broken as well. He knew he had been stabbed, slashed, beaten, his body a web of fire and lightning. He felt the blood trickling down his skin, draining whatever life force was left from him.

It had to be almost evening, now. The sun's rays that had bore down upon him, blinding him, blistering the skin that was somehow left unharmed, had dissipated. The light now caressed him, warming him, whispering to him. He closed his eyes, letting the warmth radiate over him, for he had grown so cold.

Fiyero didn't know where Elphaba had run off to. He knew that she didn't want to leave, that she had fought with him, trying to save his life. Fiyero knew that her fighting wasn't an option. He heard the cries of the witch hunters. He heard his own men speak in salivating tongues about what they would do to her when they caught her. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let them get to her, torture her, kill her. He was the only thing standing in their way. He had to protect her.

And he had. He had turned himself in, given himself up for the most brutal form of punishment. He had let them torment him, breaking his body and shattering his soul. He was strung up for the world to see, an example of what happens when you break the law. He was Fiyero the Martyr, sacrificing himself to save the one that he loved most.

Was it worth it?

A blast of pain wracked his body, causing him to spasm, the bindings holding him to the poles digging into his wrists sharply. He gasped for breath, his own body weight pushing down on his lungs, choking him, strangling him. He tried to pull himself up, but he couldn't use his arms, bruised and snapped, or his legs, beaten and shattered. He could barely keep his head up, the swelling that pressed on his brain and overtook his eye making his head feel even heavier.

Was she worth dying for?

Fiyero exhaled, a breath that felt like it could be his last. He felt something stir inside of him, like the warmth of the sun, but internal. He felt it rope together, a ball winding in his chest, spreading out like roots through his useless arms and legs. It reached upward, climbing up his neck, extending into his skull. He wondered if this was it, if this was death's embrace finally coming for him, finally taking him to peace.

Fiyero sighed, closing his eyes.

 _Yes,_ he thought, _She was worth it. All of it._

 _Nobody loves no one_


End file.
